


Roots

by MegpoidGumiBear



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Apocalypse, Daryl Dixon Smut, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Porn With Plot, Walkers (Walking Dead)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:35:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 10,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23322547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MegpoidGumiBear/pseuds/MegpoidGumiBear
Summary: Lou-Anne had lived an uneventful life, up until her 26th year. She went to school every day, studying to be an EMT, attended church every Sunday, and regularly visited her father's home to cook him dinner.Then, the dead began to rise, and the living became monsters as well.Somehow, Lou-Anne Horvath manages to connect with Daryl Dixon, and he grows roots around her heart.
Relationships: Daryl Dixon/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	1. go fish

The distribution of chores around the camp had become atrocious in Lou's eyes. The women were handed over all the domestic chores, while the men sat around holding guns all day, claiming they were protecting everyone. Lou-Anne saw right through their bullshit and refused to do only as she was told. She contributed in many ways. She went on runs with Glenn, who she had bonded with on one of the first days in camp. She took care of the sick and the hurting, since she was the most qualified for the job, thanks to her past as a nurse. She cleaned and cooked like the women, but she also walked the perimeter of the camp every day with a knife in hand to look for walkers. 

Life at the quarry settled into a routine quickly. The children would work on schoolwork in the mornings, then play in the afternoons. The mothers would all work together to create meals for everyone, a majority of it is either canned or fresh meat, thanks to Glenn and Daryl. Lou could often be found on the top of the RV she shared with her father, Dale.

When she wasn't keeping watch or healing wounds, one would find her watching over the children. She felt a maternal instinct come out when she was around them, an instinct she hadn't known she could even have. 

Right now, she was playing cards with Carl and Sophia. They were playing Go Fish, as the two children still weren't sure how to play any other games. 

"Go fish." Carl declared, giving a mischievous grin from behind his cards. 

"I do not like that look you're giving me." Lou gave a nervous laugh as she reached for a card from the stack in the middle.

For the next half hour, Lou added more and more cards to her hand, yet somehow never got a matching pair. Carl and Sophia, on the other hand, got a matching pair nearly every time they took a turn. The kids eventually won the game of goldfish when they all ran out of cards and counted up their pairs. 

After that, Lou-Anne went in search of another way to distract herself from Glenn still being gone from camp for the run into the city. He'd taken a bigger group this time and it worried Lou, knowing that he wouldn't be able to just up and run if he needed to. She knew how many walkers were in the city, and having a large group meant a lot more danger and mistakes to be made.

She found herself walking to the edge of the camp, trapezing over a few strings littered with cans that acted as a security alarm for walkers. Further, in the woods, she came across a handful of walkers throughout an hour's walk, and Lou marked that as a small victory for the day. 

She soon returned to the RV, where she met her father on the roof. He was seated in his beach chair, the beach umbrella haphazardly strapped to the back for shade. He cast a glance her way, putting his binoculars in his lap as he sensed she needed to talk about something. He knew his daughter, and she always fidgeted with her ring when she was nervous or anxious. "C'mon, out with it. I know there's something on your mind." He said, giving her a knowing look when she tried to act surprised by his comment.

She huffed and sat on the edge of the camper's roof, dangling her legs over the side. "I'm worried about Glenn," she confessed, "He's never taken this many people on a run before, and I don't want anyone to get hurt." 

"Glenn has gone into the city so many times before, and he's smart; he'll come back soon. You know he can handle himself, and he'll watch the others too." 

Lou nodded, but her mind couldn't rest until she saw her friend return. "I think I'll stay up here, just until they all get back." She stated, knowing her father would appreciate the company at least. 

"You're welcome to stay as long as you'd like, Lou-Ann."


	2. campfire stories

Lou-Ann finally felt relief upon seeing Glenn come out of the sports car he'd driven back to camp in. She ran forward, wrapping her arms around the Korean man, and then he was bombarded by the others with shouts and questions. Lou stepped back, watching as a large cube van crawled up the hill towards them. The group members began jumping out of the back, but Lou noticed that there was someone missing. Then, as she was expecting him to come out of the van and make some offhand comment about her body, but he didn't. Instead, a new member came around the corner, and Lou could hear Carl's excited shout. "Dad!"

Oh, shit. Lou glanced over her shoulder as Carl and Lori ran forward to jump into the man's arms. She saw Shane behind her, looking agitated, to say the least. He glared her way, and Lou returned her gaze towards the reunited family. She wasn't so sure about anyone else, but the scene caused a tear to roll down her cheek. Quickly and discreetly, she wiped away the wetness on her face and shuffled awkwardly, looking for any excuse to leave the area. Thankfully, Glenn approached her at this moment, asking for help carrying some of the things they'd looted in the city.

"So," she began, grabbing one of the duffel bags from the back of the van, "what happened to Merle? Not that it matters to me, but we both know what the Dixon men are like. Daryl is going to be insufferable when he finds out his brother is dead."

"Actually, he's not dead. At least, not that we know of. He was being an ass, so Rick handcuffed him to a pipe on the roof." Glenn explained as they laid the two duffel bags down.

"No keys?" Lou asked, bewildered that they'd just left a man trapped like that.

"T-Dog dropped them down a drain." He said, and then realized how that sounded, so he added, "not on purpose, though. Oh, and he chained the door so no geeks could get on the roof."

"He could still die up there. Sure, he's an asshole and a racist, not to mention incredibly sexist, but nobody deserves to die like that. It's not right." Lou muttered, realizing no matter how wrong it was, there was nothing she could do about it. 

Seeing the expression on Glenn's face, Lou said, "I'm sorry, Glenn. I didn't mean that in a mean way." 

"No, you're right. It was wrong to leave him there, but we had to go or all of us would've been goners."

Lou-Anne nodded. The two decided to head down to the quarry for a swim, something they hadn't done in a while. Sophia joined them shortly after they arrived, and she assured them that her mother said it was alright. They played around in the water for a while, then eventually headed back to camp just before dark. 

The campfires were lit by the time Lou had changed into dry clothes. She pulled on a sweater as she walked to sit beside Glenn on a log. It seemed they were all listening to Rick tell the story of how he got here. Lou settled and accepted the plate Carol handed her, fish being the meal for tonight. She ate quietly, listening to Rick's terrifying story. She couldn't imagine what she would've done if she'd been in his place.

After that, she went to her tent, glancing over to Daryl and Merle's tent as she went to zip the door closed. She didn't sleep well that night.


	3. poxy bastard

The next day, it was decided that Rick would tell Daryl what had happened to Merle. He'd been the one to handcuff him, after all. Not to mention everyone assumed it would be better for Daryl to hear it from a white guy, considering Merle's beliefs. Lou thought it was dumb to just assume Daryl shared the same belief, especially when the man had never shown any sort of behaviour to indicate he was racist. 

Lou-Anne went about her business, as usual. Lori asked her to watch the kids while the women went down to wash laundry, so she took this opportunity to bring them into the closer wooded areas, showing them what to look for when scavenging. It was the only survival skill the mothers encouraged her to teach them, seeing as how it didn't include weapons. Lou felt indifferent to that, as she understood that they only wanted to protect their children, but if she had a kid, she'd want him/her to know how to survive. Even if it meant getting bloody.

She brought the kids back into camp with some berries after they came across a large blueberry bush, and a raspberry bush shortly after. The children ran about, distributing berries to anyone who would accept. It was a treat for everyone. The kids left the remainder of the berries with Amy as she promised she could make something with them. 

The mothers came back a short while after this and retrieved their kids, bringing them over to the tables and chairs designated for schooling. Lou watched, amused by their attitude as they stomped over to learn. She turned and headed over to the RV, hoisting herself up the ladder to the roof, where Glenn was currently seated in her father's spot. "Where's my dad?" She asked, sitting to his side where the beach umbrella provided some shade from the blistering sun. 

"Had to fill up his water bottle, told me to take over for a few minutes. What's up?"Glenn responded, handing over the binoculars to her.

Lou took them, raising them to her face to look out across the quarry. "Nothing, I was going to see if I could head into the woods for a bit. I had the kids out earlier, we came across some berry bushes, I thought it might be nice to grab some more for dad, raspberries were my mom's favourite." She handed back the binoculars, then sighed, pulling her knees to her chest, her arms looping around her bent legs. "Do you ever think about what you'd be doing right now if the outbreak never happened?" 

"Sometimes, yeah," Glenn admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. 

"Well, what is it?" She asked curiously. 

He gave a small smile, then told her, "probably delivering pizzas still. What about you?"

This question was a no-brainer. She bit her lip, then said, "I'd be up to my eyeballs in studying by now. I was studying to be an EMT. I was so close, too." A sigh fell from her mouth as she thought of what could've been. 

Then, a scream let out somewhere behind them, and Lou jumped up, sliding down the ladder and rushing to where the scream originated. She found herself running with a group of men to the edge of the camp, where Sophia and Carl had seen a walker. There it was, in a little clearing just at the edge of the woods, gnawing on a deer that had several arrows in its side. Lou knew what this meant. Daryl was near.

She watched the men beat at the monster, rolling her eyes as she knew the only way to kill it was through the brain. The brain was the thing that controlled every part of one's body, of course, it was the only way of putting someone out for good. Finally, someone had entirely decapitated the walker, the head rolling a foot away. 

"That's the first one we've had up here. They never come this far up the mountain." Lou's father said, gesturing to it and then to the mountainside that faced the city.

"Well, they're running out of food in the city, that's what," Jim replied, wiping at the sweat on his forehead. The men had really given it their all when they were beating at the corpse with their various weapons.

Then, Lou could hear the snapping of branches, and footsteps, and she turned to the woods with her knife held tight. Out stepped Daryl Dixon, holding his crossbow. Shane cursed, lowering his weapon, "Jesus." 

Daryl took one look at the deer and grunted, "Son of a bitch. That's my deer! Look at it. All gnawed up by this," he began kicking at the walker's body, continuing, "filthy, disease-bearing, motherless poxy bastard!" 

Dale stepped in, "Calm down, son. That's not helping."

"What do you know about it, old man? Why don't you take that stupid hat and go back to On Golden Pond?" Lou snorted at this in an attempt to hide a laugh and clamped a hand over her mouth as Daryl said, "I've been tracking this deer for miles. Gonna drag it back to camp, cook us up some venison." He pulled the bolts from the deer's corpse.

"What do you think? Think we can cut around this chewed up part right here?" He gestured to the part of the deer's neck that had become a chew toy for a walker. 

"I would not risk that." Lou piped up, giving a disgusted look at the deer's neck. 

Daryl sighed, "That's a damn shame. I got some squirrel--about a dozen or so. That'll have to do."

That was when the walker's disembodied head came back to life, teeth clacking as it tried to bite the air. "Come on, people. What the hell? It's gotta be the brain." He then shot an arrow through the walker's eye, beginning to walk away, "Don't y'all know nothing?"

The group followed Daryl back to camp, where he began asking for Merle to come out. Lou watched as Rick and Shane proceeded to tell the man that his brother was back in the city, chained to a roof. As expected, Daryl did not take this well, resulting in Shane putting him in a chokehold. 

Then, Rick offered to go back into the city to retrieve the man, and Lou perked up, wanting to help. She hadn't been to the city in a while. "I'll go. It's not right for anyone to be trapped like that."

"Nah, don't need your help," Daryl muttered.

"You see anyone else around here offering to help your jackass of a brother?" Lou retorted, "didn't think so. I'm in." 

"Me too." T-Dog chimed in, and Lou almost laughed when she saw the look on Daryl's face. 

It was decided, then. The group would leave immediately to go get Merle, the group consisting of Lou, Rick, Daryl, Glenn, and T-Dog. Lou went to grab her gun and a small backpack to put some medical supplies in, including a few bottles of water. Merle would likely be dehydrated. 

The group loaded into the same cube van from before and headed out.


	4. tell it to the frogs

The drive into the city wasn't long, as there were no legal speed restrictions, what with the downfall of the world and all. Lou holstered her gun, knowing it was a risk to use it now. The city was infested with walkers, and noise attracted them. Shooting a gun in the city was a death wish.

Instead, Lou pulled out her butterfly knife, twisting and flipping it around nonchalantly as they walked. Rick asked Glenn if they would go for Merle or the bag of guns first, and Daryl kicked up a fuss when everyone agreed that the bag of guns was the better first option. Lou followed behind as they ran, her butterfly knife now being held still, ready to stab a dead brain at a moment's notice. 

They came across a few walkers on their way and Lou got to kill a few as they went further into the building where Merle was left. "You are one ugly skank," Daryl commented, shooting a bolt into the corpse's forehead. He pulled the bolt out as he walked past and they ascended further.

Finally, they reached the roof and T-Dog clipped the chain holding the door closed. The group walked out onto the roof, expecting to be greeted with a furious Merle, but came to see he wasn't there at all. The handcuffs hung from where Rick hooked him onto a pipe, but underneath that, there was a disembodied hand, discoloured from lack of blood. 

Daryl exploded, his emotions getting the better of him as he screamed over and over. Lou glanced at the hacksaw, still laying in a pool of old blood. She felt tears welling in her eyes, but pushed forward and did something that surprised everyone. She pulled Daryl into a hug, both of them falling to the ground as his legs gave away. She didn't let go, just held on tighter, wanting him to know he wasn't alone. 

Just when she thought he'd calmed down, he leapt from the ground and from her arms, turning on the men with his crossbow aimed. Lou stood, crossing over to come between Daryl and T-Dog, who was currently on the business end of Daryl's crossbow. "Daryl, no." She said just as Rick placed his gun to Daryl's head. 

She could see him shaking, could see the tremors as he fought the tears back. "I won't hesitate. I don't care if every walker in the city hears it." Rick said with a grimace. 

Daryl dropped his crossbow, asking T-Dog for a handkerchief, using it to wrap Merle's hand up, then putting it in Glenn's packing. He then began to follow the trail of blood on the roof, Lou walking right behind him as the men were close behind her. They began descending a set of stairs, Daryl first, with his crossbow readied.

They went through what appeared to be an old office building and came across two dead walkers. "Had enough in him to take out these two sumbitches. One-handed." Daryl said, leaning down to inspect one of the bodies. He pulled back the cord on his crossbow, putting a bolt in place as he said, "toughest asshole I ever met, my brother. Feed him a hammer and he'd crap out nails." 

Lou couldn't deny this statement but Merle had recently cut off his own hand and was now wandering Atlanta with no proper weapons. "Anyone can die of blood loss, no matter how tough they are." She pointed out as she continued through the room, into a small industrial kitchen. The smell of burnt flesh overwhelmed Lou, and she had to struggle to keep from vomiting there and then. 

Apparently, Merle had cauterized his arm on the stove in front of them, the evidence still there in forms of small pieces of burned skin on the metal. The flame was still lit and the blood on the floor was still bright red, leading Lou to believe he'd been here recently. She took a step back, listening to the men argue for a moment before she stepped in, "I'm not wandering these streets with just my knife. If we're looking for Merle, then we get the guns first." 

T-Dog agreed with her, and the rest of the men agreed that they'd retrieve the bag of guns Rick had dropped on the last run. 

* * *

Glenn explained the plan, and it seemed Lou was the only one on board.

"You're not doing this alone," Rick spoke.

"Even I think it's a bad idea and I don't even like you much," Daryl commented, leaning his hands on his knees. 

"It's a good idea, okay, if you just hear me out," Glenn pleaded, "If we go out there in a group, we're slow, drawing attention. If I'm alone, I can move fast. Look." He began explaining the plan with gestures to the small map he drew on the floor, using various items to represent each of them, along with the bag of guns. 

He wanted Daryl and Lou in one alley, and Rick and T-Dog in an alley a few blocks down. That way, if he was cut off and couldn't return to Daryl and Lou, he'd be able to keep running and get to Rick and T-Dog. 

Daryl and Lou followed Glenn into the alley, Lou's butterfly knife being quickly flipped and twisted around her hand. It was a fidget of hers, something she did when her anxiety piqued. She watched Glenn remove his button shirt, laying it across the edge of a dumpster the three were hiding behind. Lou buried her knife into the temple of a walker that was crawling closer to them. 

Daryl pulled back on the chord of his crossbow, readying it should he need to shoot, "you've got some balls for a chinaman." 

"I'm Korean." Glenn countered, before quietly running out into the street.

"Whatever," Daryl muttered, putting a bolt into place on his bow.

Lou waited anxiously for Glenn to return, flipping her knife in her hand over and over. Then, she heard footsteps, and she jumped from behind the dumpster, seeing a boy in a muscle tank much like Daryl's. "Whoa, don't shoot me! What do you want?" He cried, hands raising in a surrender.

Daryl sneered with his crossbow aimed, "looking for my brother. He's hurt real bad. You seen him?" 

Lou kept watching the gate where the alley met the street, praying Glenn would come quickly. The boy began crying for help in Spanish, and Lou turned, grabbing him roughly and shoving him into the wall. "Shut up! You're gonna bring the geeks down on us!" She hissed, her knife pointed at his throat. She kept glancing at the street, checking for Glenn. 

The boy cried out more, and Lou stepped back just in time for Daryl to swing his crossbow down across the boy's head, knocking him to the ground. He thrashed about, still yelling in the foreign language. Lou watched Daryl hold a hand to the kid's mouth, becoming alarmed when two men came racing into the alley. This was who the boy had been crying out for. The men seemed alarmed when they saw there was a woman, but Lou wasted no time. She swept forward, her knife aimed at their face. She managed to slash at his arm, but he grabbed her by the shoulders and slammed her into the wall with enough force to drop her knife. He did this again, managing to slam her head into the bricks.

Lou's sight blurred, and she tried to get up, tried to get her knife. She could see Daryl on the ground next to her, both men now slamming him wherever they could with their feet. Glenn must have arrived then because both men suddenly stopped and ran the other direction. She shakily stood to her feet, quickly lunging across the alley to retrieve her knife and flung it in the men's direction, hoping it would hit her mark, but the disorientation messed with her aim and accuracy.

She watched as the car pulled away, tires screeching, with Glenn being taken. She huffed, kicking the wall in anger, feeling a need to pull her hair out. Then, she turned on the boy as Daryl went to close the alley's gate to keep the walkers out.

"What the living fuck was that? Where are they taking him? Where are they going?" She seethed, the fury evident in her tone. She tried to attack him, but T-Dog and Rick pulled her off him. "You better pray they don't hurt him." She threatened, wiping at some blood on her lip.

"Not the time," Rick told her, gesturing to the walkers clinging to the gate, desperately trying to get to their next meal. 

She rolled her eyes with another huff, but picked up her knife from the ground and followed the small group back into the building.


	5. vatos

Lou leaned forward in anticipation as Daryl drilled the boy for answers; an interrogation of sorts. The boy proved to be resilient to most of Daryl and Lou's threats alike, and this resulted in Daryl pulling Merle's detached hand from Glenn's bag and throwing it at the boy. Lou almost felt bad upon seeing his reaction, and the immediate responses he gave afterwards. 

So, they headed out to the boy's camp. T-Dog took the bag of guns and went to go hide atop a roof, while Lou cocked the pistol she'd been given. They weren't dealing with walkers anymore. Rick lead the way with the boy, while Daryl and Lou took the rear. They walked with their weapons drawn, ready to shoot at a moment's notice. 

The double doors slid open and a man walked out, Lou presumed this was Guillermo, the leader of this group. "you okay, little man?" He asked.

Their captive responded with fear, "they're gonna cut off my feet, carnal." 

"Cops do that?" It was clear that Guillermo was referring to Rick.

"Not him. This redneck puto here, and his hyna." The boy corrected, "they cut off some dude's hands, man. They showed it to me."

Daryl grunted, "shut up!" 

Another man stepped forward, "Hey, that's that vato right there, homes. He shot me in the ass with an arrow. What's up, homes, huh?"

"Yeah, there's that puta that stabbed me. Fucked up my arm, man." 

Lou had to hide a smirk upon seeing the bandage wrapped around the man's bicep. She remembered barely getting him with her knife. 

"Chill, ese, chill. Chill." Guillermo repeated a few times, pushing his men back, "this true? He wants Miguelito's feet? That's pretty sick, man."

"We were hoping more for a calm discussion," Rick replied, keeping a level head amongst the accusations. Even he couldn't deny what it looked like.

"This hillbilly jumps Felipe's little cousin, beats on him, threatens to cut off his feet, his amiguita stabs Jorge, Felipe gets an arrow in the ass, and you want a calm discussion? You fascinate me."

"Heat of the moment." Lou spoke up, "mistakes were made on both sides."

"Who's that dude to you anyway? Y'all don't look related."

"He's family, you ass." Lou retorts, biting back a few more colourful words.

Rick took over again, "he's one of our group, more or less. I'm sure you have a few like him."

"You got my brother in there?" Daryl asked.

Guillermo shook his head, "sorry, we're fresh out of white boys. But I've got Asian. You interested?"

"I have one of yours, you have one of mine. Sounds like an even trade."

"Don't sound even to me," the leader argued.

While the boy, Miguelito, tried to plead for Guillermo to do the trade, Guillermo continued, "My people got attacked. Where's the compensation for their pain and suffering? More to the point, where's my bag of guns?" 

"Guns?"

"The bag Miguel saw in the street. The bag Felipe and Jorge were going back to get. That bag of guns."

"You're mistaken, about it being yours. It's my bag of guns." Rick tried to clarify, but Guillermo wasn't having it. He insisted he wanted the guns as part of the trade. It was at this time that Rick revealed T-Dog upon the roof, the sniper rifle is aimed directly at Guillermo.

Guillermo yelled something up, and Lou looked up to see two men holding Glenn with a bag over his head. "Glenn." She nearly whimpered, her heart jumping up to her throat upon seeing him like that. They were in a standoff, and Lou wanted desperately to tell Rick to just give the man all the damn guns they had, but she knew how bad the guns would be needed back at camp. 

Guillermo propositioned them to either come back with the bag of guns or to come back locked and loaded. Lou had no doubts about which she'd rather do.

* * * * *

They'd backtracked to an office building again, holing up in an office. Rick began sorting out the guns while Daryl ranted, "them guns are worth more than gold. Gold ain't gonna protect your family or put food on the table. You willing to give that up for that kid?"

"Daryl, you can kindly shut the fuck up, Glenn has done enough for the group to earn your goddamn respect. We're getting him back, regardless of what we have to do or give up. He's family." Lou snapped, becoming irritated with the guy.

It was decided they'd be going in with guns blazing, just as Lou had hoped. She was ready to kill every son of a bitch in the place. 

They tied Miguel up and made their way back to the camp, this time walking into the threshold of what looked to be a garage. There was a standstill as both groups stood with weapons drawn until an old lady came wandering in. 

"Felipe?" She called, coming closer to the front of the group.

Felipe called back, "Abuela, go back with the others-- now."

"Get that old lady out of the line of fire!"

Guillermo told her to listen to Felipe, but she claimed someone named Mr. Gilbert was having trouble breathing. 

Lou listened as the woman explained that Mr. Gilbert was having an asthma attack, and his medicine was nowhere to be found. Felipe tried to lead his grandmother away from the guns, but she took notice of Rick, thinking he was a police officer. Rightly so, considering his outfit. 

"Don't you take him." She said, "Felipe's a good boy. He have his trouble but he pull himself together. We need him here." 

Rick responded, "ma'am, we're not here to arrest your grandson."

"Then what do you want him for?" She asked.

Lou answered this time, "he's helping us look for a missing person. Our friend named Glenn."

Recognition lit up in the old woman's eyes as she said, "the Asian boy? He's with Mr. Gilbert. Come. Come, I show you."

The men let the old lady lead Rick, Lou, Daryl and T-Dog through the building. They passed by about a dozen older folks and stopped in a large rec room, where an old man was being given a puffer for the aforementioned asthma attack. Glenn was there, and Lou wasted no time in rushing to hug her friend. "We thought you were being eaten by dogs, dude." She said.

Glenn gestured to a few chihuahuas laying in a pink and cheetah print dog bed off to the side. Lou felt a little giggle escape her lips. She watched Rick pull Guillermo away to talk, and hugged Glenn once more. She felt relieved. 

She, along with the men of her group, followed Guillermo into a room in the long hallway. Guillermo described how many of the seniors had been left here by their families and friends, and most of the staff had up and left to fend for themselves. The old folks had nobody to protect them, to take care of them. Lou found she had a lot of respect for Guillermo. 

Rick gives him half the guns from the bag, along with half the ammo. Lou freed her bag of a few bottles of prescription pills, stuff she'd been holding onto for some while, but none of it would be needed by their group. She also gave him a respirator she'd found and stuffed into her backpack, although she didn't have any oxygen canisters for it. Guillermo thanked her all the same.

They were walking back to the cube van when Glenn spoke, "admit it. You only came back to Atlanta for the hat."

Jokingly, Rick replied, "don't tell anybody."

"You gave away half our guns and ammo," Daryl grumbled.

"Not nearly half," Rick said.

"For what? A bunch of old farts that are gonna die off momentarily anyhow? Seriously, how long you think they got?" Daryl quipped.

"How long do any of us?" Rick asked in response.

They'd just about gotten to the gate when they saw their van was missing. Their only guess was that Merle had taken it, and if they were right, he would be heading back to camp to unleash hell. Everyone started off into a sprint.


	6. you there, God?

When they finally made it back to camp, Lou could hear screams and shots ringing. She pushed her legs harder, cocking the rifle in her hands. The men were close behind her, and they'd all joined in the chaos. There were walkers absolutely everywhere. Lou shot one getting too close to Lori and Carl and told them to head to the RV, praying her dad was okay.

At one point, she thought she was done for until an arrow went whizzing by her head and stuck into the forehead of the walker she'd been wrestling with. Her gun was out of bullets, and her knife was sheathed, so she began swinging the rifle onto any oncoming walkers. The group slowly made their way to the RV, where it became a more organized effort of taking out the intruders. 

Once it became quiet again, Lou nearly collapsed with the overwhelming panic she felt. "Dad? Dad!" She called, seeing him by the RV. She hugged him, thanking God for listening to her prayers. That was when she saw that Amy had been bitten. Dale held his daughter tighter as her knees gave out and sobs wracked her entire body. 

* * * * *

By the next morning, Lou's tears had dried, and most of the camp had begun the process of cleaning up the mess of the night prior. Daryl was going around with an axe, ensuring the walkers were really dead.

Lou and Glenn were pulling bodies into piles. The walkers were going to be burned, and the camp members that had died were to be buried. T-Dog helped them toss another walker into the flames. Lou wiped the sweat from her brow as she watched Lori try to talk to Andrea. She decided to pay her respects to her friend and told the men she'd be right back.

Lou didn't say much, she just lowered herself to sit beside Andrea. "You gonna try to tell me to shoot her already? Like the others?"

"Nah, I think you need your time to grieve, just like everyone else. I know you'll do it when the time comes. I'd like to say goodbye to my friend if that's alright." Lou said, continuing when she saw Andrea nod, this time speaking to the girl covered in bites, "hi, Ames. I'm so sorry this happened, you didn't deserve this. You were too fucking good for this world. I just hope you're in a better place. I love you Amy, and I'll see you again, I'm sure." 

Lou placed a gentle hand on Andrea's shoulder, telling her to call out if she needed help, and then took her leave. She returned to Glenn and T-Dog, going back to putting corpses into the growing fire. 

* * * * *

They held a funeral of sorts for their fallen members, Lou looked on with tears in her eyes but refusing to let them stream down her cheeks. She mouthed a few silent prayers as people were lowered into the ground. She'd always attended church, but before the fall of civilization, it had been more for the social aspect than religion. Nowadays, she faced a constant battle with her beliefs but still took the time to occasionally say a prayer or to thank the heavens for blessings that came her way. 

Once the mass funeral was over, everyone headed back to camp eventually, a few stayed by the graves to pay respects or say goodbye. Lou went to check on Jim, who'd been bitten in the attack but hadn't turned. She checked his temperature and asked how his pain was. She offered him some painkillers but he declined. She got a cold cloth and wiped at his forehead, hoping to alleviate some of his discomforts. Lou got up, going back outside after instructing Carol on how to care for Jim since the woman wanted to help in some way.

Lou was instructed to take down her tent and pack it into one of the vehicles, as they were leaving as soon as possible for the CDC. She and Glenn helped each other tear down their tents and pack all of their belongings. It didn't take very long with both of them working at it. Carol and Jacqui offered to ride in the RV to take care of Jim. Lou wouldn't be needed, anyways. Jim refused painkillers and had already been bandaged. It was only a matter of keeping his fever down and trying to make him comfortable.

Lou knew this meant the RV would be cramped, so she mulled over her options. The only vehicles that would be empty were Shane's Jeep or Daryl's truck. She thought about it, then took into consideration the looks she'd been receiving from the latter. It was better to ask Daryl to ride with him. 

She approached him where he was strapping down his brother's motorcycle. "Think I could ride with you?" She asked, gripping her tent bag in one hand and her backpack slung over the opposite shoulder.

"You're not gonna go in the RV?" 

"Nah, it'll be cramped, and it's either you or Shane, so here I am. You may be an asshole, but you're less of a perv." Lou said, causing Daryl to snort in what she hoped was amusement.

"Yeah, alright. Put your stuff in the cab." He agreed. 

They both walked over to where the rest of the group was stood around in a circle. Rick and Shane explained how this trip was going to work, and when they asked if anyone had any questions, the Morales family announced they wouldn't be joining. Rick gave them a gun and some ammo, and Lou stared on as the kids said goodbye to each other. Eliza gave Sophia her doll, and then the group all went to their vehicles. Lou hadn't been extremely close with the family, but she'd grown fond of the children.

She pulled herself into the passenger seat of Daryl's truck, hiding tears as she watched the family pull away in their car. She turned away when they pulled onto the road, she couldn't bear to see the family's car driving away. She'd miss the kids.

"You cryin'?" Daryl asked abruptly.

Lou took a deep breath, wiping at her eyes quickly, which had in fact filled with tears, and responded, "yeah, so what? I'm gonna miss them."

"Ain't no point. We're all gonna die anyhow." He said, biting at his thumbnail.

"Dick," Lou muttered under her breath, glancing over to see him smirk. 

"' Least I'm not a creep, too." He retorted, and Lou chuckled.

Maybe Daryl Dixon wasn't what everyone said he was.


	7. CDC or bust

The group had to stop along their way when the RV began smoking. Lou got out of the truck, approaching the RV where her father was inspecting the problem. It turned out one of the hoses was shot to hell, and it had already been jury-rigged. They'd need a new hose if they wanted to go any further.

Shane offered to go ahead, look for a hose, while Jacqui came out of the RV, saying Jim was getting worse. Lou walked onto the RV, going to the back where Jim was laid out. "How you doin'?" She asked, sitting beside him. "We'll be back on the road soon, just a bit of trouble with a hose."

Jim groaned, "No, no. Christ. My bones are like glass. Every little bump-- God, this ride is killing me. Leave me here. I'm done. Just leave me." 

Lou wasn't sure how she felt about that, but he was still sane, he knew what he wanted. She got up with a nod, went outside to tell everyone his decision. 

There was some argument, but Lou shut everyone down by telling them he was lucid and this was his choice, not theirs. Jim was carried and placed beside a tree. Everyone climbed the small hill to say goodbye. Lou was one of the last to say farewell and she slipped a pill into his hand when she knew nobody was looking. "I know you don't want any painkillers, but this will help you." It was a sleeping pill, just something to help his last few moments be peaceful. He'd likely still turn, but she hoped he wouldn't feel it.

"Bye, Jim." She said, then walked back to Daryl's truck. She sighed as they drove away from the man, and she swore she could see him raise a hand to his mouth. She hoped it would help.

* * * * *

Arriving at the CDC, the group was met with a horrific sight. Lou pulled out her butterfly knife, thinking a silent weapon was best at the moment. There were corpses everywhere, rotting. Flies swarmed some of the older bodies, and Lou took the bandana Daryl offered her, wrapping it around her neck and raising it to cover her nose and mouth. She stuck to the edge of the group, her knife raised. She spotted a walker on the ground beginning to rise and stuck the blade into its eye socket.

They'd reached the shutters when Daryl shot an oncoming walker in a military outfit, shouting, "you led us into a graveyard!"

"He made a call."

"It was the wrong damn call!" The redneck yelled again.

"Daryl, shut up! You're gonna bring them down on us!" Lou exclaimed quietly, tugging him away from Shane, who looked ready to kill him.

"Rick, this is a dead-end. Do you hear me? No blame." Shane said.

Carol cried, "where are we gonna go?"

"She's right. We can't be here, this close to the city after dark." Lori voiced, clutching her son tight.

Shane proposed they head for Fort Benning, but it was a hundred miles away and they were running out of fuel, out of food. Lou kept quiet as everyone began heading back to the vehicles, then Rick saw the cameras move, and started shouting, beating on the closed shutters for help. Shane tried to drag him away as he was drawing attention, and then the shutters opened, blinding everyone with the harsh light inside.


	8. some shmuck named Jenner

The group wandered into the building, Daryl covering the back to keep watch for walkers, since he had the best weapon for it. A man was inside, asking if anyone was bitten, and Rick responded by saying one of their group had, but he hadn't made it. Jim. The man demanded that they all submit to a blood test, which Rick easily agreed to. The man then told them all to grab anything they needed, as the doors would not open again once they closed. 

Daryl, Glenn, T-Dog, and Shane all ran to the vehicles, grabbing everyone's bags. Lou kept watching in Daryl's place, stabbing any walkers that came too close. When the men returned, everyone went inside, where the strange man punched in a code on the alarm system on the wall, and the shudders slid shut once again. 

Lou took her bag from Daryl, thanking him. The man introduced himself as Dr. Edwin Jenner. 

They all gathered in the one elevator, being a tight squeeze considering their group size. Lou was against the back, squished between Glenn and Daryl. Daryl asked if all doctors went around packing heat like Dr. Jenner.

Jenner replied, "there were plenty lying around, I familiarized myself. But you look harmless enough." Then, he glanced down to Carl, and continued, "except you. I'll have to keep my eye on you."

Carl could barely contain his grin. 

They walked down a long hallway into a vast room filled with computer screens and empty chairs. It turned out, Dr. Jenner was the last one remaining in the entire facility. He and the A.I. system named Vi. 

They headed into a side room, where he set up a station to take everyone's blood. Lou offered to help after he took hers first, and she revealed she had been studying to be an EMT, and knew the procedure well.

She set up on the other side of the table he had, and carefully took Glenn's blood, apologizing when he winced. The group all had their blood taken, and the last one to do so was Andrea. As she got up, she nearly fainted and Jenner asked if she was alright.

Jacqui quickly grabbed the blonde woman, holding her up as she spoke for Andrea, "she hasn't eaten in days. None of us have." 

That was when Lou realized she hadn't eaten since before they'd left for Atlanta to retrieve Merle. She suddenly noticed the pain she'd been feeling since they left camp had been due to lack of food. 

Thankfully, Jenner seemed to have a large supply of food, and to much of the group's delight; alcohol as well. They all seated around a huge round table, all of the adults drinking and eating as Dale tried to persuade Lori to let Carl have a little bit of wine. He pulled a face as the taste reached his tongue and the group burst into laughter.

"Stick to soda-pop there, bud," Shane remarked, taking another sip of his wine. 

"Not you, Glenn. I wanna see how red your face can get." Daryl commented above everyone's talking and another spout of laughter bubbled amongst the group. Upon this comment, Glenn's face did indeed become red, though not from alcohol. 

Lou chuckled beside him and took another gulp of the red liquid in her cup. 

Rick stood, saying, "it seems to me we haven't thanked our host properly."

"He is more than just our host." T-Dog piped up, raising his glass.

The rest of the group followed suit, exclaiming their gratitude to the doctor in various forms. Daryl shouted, "booyah!" 

To which, the rest of the group echoed his phrase.

The mood of the entire room dropped when Shane asked, "when you gonna tell us what the hell happened here, doc? All the other doctors? We were supposed to be figuring out what happened, where are they?"

Rick tried to stop him; "Shane, we're celebrating. Don't need to do this now."

"Whoa, wait a second. This is why we're here, right? This was your move-- supposed to find all the answers. Instead, we found him. Found one man. Why?"

Jenner spoke up, "well, when things got bad, a lot of people just left, went off to be with their families. And when things got worse, when the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted." 

Shane seemed amused by that idea, "every last one?"

"No, many couldn't face walking out the door. They. . . opted out. There was a rash of suicides. That was a bad time." 

The group was silent as he explained why he didn't run, why he kept working.

Glenn said to Shane, "dude, you are such a buzzkill, man."

* * * * *

"Most of the facility is powered down. Including housing, so you'll have to make do here. The couches are comfortable, but there are cots in storage if you like. There's a rec room down the hall that you kids might enjoy. Just don't plug in the video games, okay? Or anything that draws power. The same applies-- if you shower, go easy on the hot water."

"Did he just say hot water?" Glenn asked incredulously, a grin forming on his face quickly. 

"That's what the man said." T-Dog quipped, an equally wide grin present on his face as well.

The group quickly split up, everyone scrambling to claim rooms. Lou found an empty one and wasted no time cracking open the bottle of wine she'd stashed in her pack when nobody was looking. She gulped down some alcohol and made her way to the bathroom, drunkenly stripping off as she went. She was interrupted when someone burst through the door, which hadn't been closed properly.

She froze, in just her bra and underwear, gaping at the redneck that had mistaken the room for empty.

He seemed at a loss for words, opening and closing his mouth as he thought of things to say and then decided against them, finally choosing to mutter, "sorry, this was the last one left. I'll go to the rec room." 

Maybe it was her sudden liking towards Daryl or the liquid courage she had been chugging all night, but either way, she shook her head, going to unclasp her bra. "Don't," she said, her voice silky as she stared him down.

The next thing they knew, the two were in the shower together, forgetting all about the world crumbling around them. The blonde had no idea where this put them, nor did she entirely care about the aftermath, but she sure was grateful for the company, and she definitely enjoyed it.


	9. smut

Daryl seemed to hesitate for a moment, clearing doubting his future actions, despite the alcohol in his system. Lou fumbled with the clasps on her bra, letting the garment drop to the floor. In an instant, Daryl had closed the distance between them, his hands on either side of her face as he pulled her into a kiss. Lou's eyes fluttered shut and she found her arms circling his neck, tugging him closer as their lips moved in sync. 

Daryl's hands travelled down, one resting at the back of the blonde's neck, the other moving to grope at one of her breasts. They kept pulling each other closer, grasping and groping each other blindly. Lou struggled with the buttons of his shirt, huffing in irritation when she couldn't get them undone quick enough. Daryl pulled back from their kiss, meeting her lust-filled gaze, and simply pulled the shirt over his head. Lou shamelessly glanced down, admiring his body before he pulled her back in by the waist. His hands found their way to her ass, gripping it tightly. 

Lou tilted her head as he peppered her jawline and neck with sloppy kisses. "The shower," she tried to say, though it came out as more of a quiet moan as Daryl sucked at a particular spot on her neck.

He grunted, grabbed at her thighs, and as though she knew what he was thinking, jumped and threw her arms around his neck. He carried her into the bathroom, although they promptly stopped to makeout with Lou being pressed against the wall with her legs still wrapped around Daryl's torso.

Lou ran her hands over his back, feeling the raised skin of multiple deep scars littering his back and pushed down the questions that she wanted to ask. Besides, by the time she had thought of those questions, Daryl had already placed her back on the ground and had pulled her panties down. He scrambled out of his pants and underwear and turned on the water in the shower. 

Lou froze for a moment, watching the water pour over his naked form before a naughty grin grew on her face and she stepped into the shower as well.

The two surged together again, lips moving in sync as their hands roamed. Daryl slipped his hand between Lou's thighs, pulling a moan from her mouth as he moved his hand aimlessly. He seemed to be experimenting, seeing what made Lou come undone. And undone she came as he continued, thrusting a finger into her and pumping it in and out for a few strokes. Then, he switched it around and toyed with her clit, causing Lou to arch her back, a delicate mewl escaping her lips. He smirked, doing it again before ducking down, catching her clit between his lips.

She felt the white-hot sensation building as he fingered her and sucked and licked at her rosebud. "Daryl," she breathed, one hand grabbing at his hair as the other fondled her own breast, "ah, don't stop. I'm going to--oh, God!"

He'd added a second finger and had begun flicking his tongue quickly over her clit. She felt an orgasm building faster and faster, and she came entirely undone when he took her bundle of nerves into his mouth and sucked, hard.

She cried out, the hand in his hair gripping tight as she shook for a moment. A carefree smile grew on her face as he stood again, gripping her chin and to stare into her eyes. There was a question in his eyes, plain as day as they stared at each other, water dripping down both their faces.

Lou furrowed her eyebrows, looking up at the man that had just made her orgasm. He was giving her a chance to stop what they were doing. She shook her head, pushing him against the shower wall as she lowered herself to her knees.

It was Daryl's turn to be pleased. He watched the gorgeous, yet bewildering woman before him, taking his cock into her hands. She stroked it experimentally, gentle and slow, then glanced up at him, lust clear in her eyes as she licked his length, taking him into her mouth. Just like Daryl, she tried different things out, first going slow and gentle, then fast and sloppy, then she was abruptly stopped just as she was trying to make him finish. 

Daryl pulled her to her feet, then tugged her into another passionate kiss by the back of the neck. Lou melted, returning the kiss with just as much fire. She felt him sliding a finger around her nether regions, then sighed as he hoisted one of her legs up and pushed his length into her. She relaxed into his arms as he tried a few slow thrusts. "Please," she begged in a whisper, "fuck me."

He didn't need to be told twice. He grabbed her two thighs, holding her up by them as he began slamming into her roughly. He muffled his groans and grunts of pleasure by attaching his mouth to her neck, sucking harshly at a spot behind her ear. Lou's eyes squeezed shut as she slipped a hand between them, playing with her clit as his thrusts became wild and less controlled. He was getting close. He bit down on her shoulder lightly, and she quickened her pace on her clit. 

It was a matter of mere seconds before she felt the white-hot sensation overtaking her body and she clung onto the man before her, quivering as the orgasm racked her body. It wasn't long before Daryl pulled out of her, spilling onto the floor of the shower instead of inside her, luckily.

Daryl slowly helped her down, having to hold onto her as her legs wobbled. The two didn't move for a minute, just stared at each other as the water fell on them.

Then, Lou got some shampoo from the dispenser on the wall and began washing her hair. Daryl followed suit and the two washed up wordlessly. Lou turned off the water when they were done and wrung out her hair a little before stepping out, wrapping herself in a towel and handing one to Daryl. He walked out to grab his clothes first, while Lou stayed in the bathroom to comb through her hair carefully. She caught sight of the scars on his back, though he didn't make a move to cover them, just pulled on underwear and flopped onto the couch in the room. 

Lou crossed the room, leaning to pull a pair of panties from her bag. Then, she dug through the bag for a shirt, although she stopped when Daryl threw something at her. It was a large band t-shirt, though faded and missing the short sleeves she knew it should have. She suppressed the smile that wanted to come out and pulled it on. Glancing around the room, she noticed there was only the one couch, and before she could reject the offer to share the couch, she felt Daryl pull her onto it, squeezed in right next to him. 

They fell asleep quickly, the alcohol and sex having tired them down. Lou dozed off to the sounds of Daryl's breathing, feeling his arm slip around her waist.


	10. this is the end

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW for topics such as self-harm and abuse, as both are mentioned in this chapter.

When Lou woke the next morning, her head was a whirl, and she felt the need to vomit. She noticed an arm draped across her body, and became incredibly aware of the body behind hers. She chose to ignore a certain appendage poking her, and rose quietly and slowly, hoping to avoid disturbing the man she'd slept with. Daryl barely stirred, even when his arm dropped down onto the couch when she got up.

Lou grabbed her head, rushing to the bathroom, letting out the contents of her stomach. She groaned, holding her hair back as she spits into the toilet. She flushed, then went to rinse her mouth in the sink, hearing movement in the main room. She spits out the water in her mouth and wiped at her lip, going back into the room. "Morning." She said to Daryl, watching as he quickly pulled on a shirt. 

She knew why he didn't want her to see him without a shirt, she'd felt it the night before when she'd run her fingers down his back. She didn't know the story but felt no need to pry, despite her growing curiosity. If he wanted her to know, then he'd tell her. "Mornin'." He replied, giving her a quick glance.

The two went down to the cafeteria, where T-Dog was serving up eggs. Lou seated herself next to Glenn, rubbing his back as he groaned. She took the pill bottle from Rick as he offered it to her, and handed two pills to Glenn, taking two for herself. She felt someone staring at her, and looked up to see Daryl staring at her neck. She used the napkin dispenser to get a look at her neck, and caught sight of a few bruises there, clearly Daryl's doing. She pulled her hair in front of her shoulder, trying to cover it.

Dale brought up the subject of looking for answers, and Jenner leads the way into the large room with all the computers. He brought up a video on the massive screen, showing the playback of someone turning. Then, Jenner told the computer to scan ahead, and they could see the brain lighting up, red and black taking over the patient's brain entirely. Lou jumped when she saw a flash come across the screen, realizing that the patient had been put down. 

Lou rubbed at her neck, feeling panic set in. She tried to fight the attack she knew was oncoming, feeling Glenn rub her back as her breathing became erratic. There was a ringing in her ears as she slid to the ground. Oh, God, she thought, we're going to die in this goddamn place. 

Dale kneeled in front of his daughter, instructing her to breathe, and to focus on keeping her breaths even. He brought her into the rec room, giving her some space as he went in search of some water. She slowly came back around, glancing around to see Jacqui and Carol nearby, closely watching her. She knew that was at her father's request, in case she passed out during her attack. "I'm okay," she told them, "it was just a panic attack. Where is everyone?" 

"Rick, Shane, T-Dog, and Glenn went down to the basement to see if there's any more fuel for the generators," Carol replied, getting up from the couch.

"I think I'm going to lie down in my room a little, I'm no use to anyone if another panic attack hits." She said, then slowly made her way back to her and Daryl's room. She wasn't expecting him to be there but lowered herself to the ground beside him when she noticed the bottle in his hand. 

"How'd you get those scars on your back?" She asked bravely, taking the bottle from his hand and swallowing some of the wine.

Daryl looked at her questioningly, and she shrugged, "if we're gonna die here, I'd like to know. I felt the scars last night when we were in the shower. I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours." She pulled up the sleeve to her plaid shirt, showing the white lines littering her arm.

Daryl considered this, and said, "my dad. He was an angry drunk. You?"

"Got pregnant with my abusive ex-boyfriend. I lost the baby, and he made me think it was my fault. I wanted to end it all." She said solemnly.

"What about now?" He asked.

"Huh?" 

"You wanna end it now?" He clarified, again handing the bottle to her for her to sip.

"No." She answered, sipping the wine, "I wanna live. It doesn't seem to matter much, though. Looks like we're all gonna die today."

"You don't know that." He retorted.

The lights and the air conditioning shut off at this moment, and the two jumped up, making their way to the door, where Jenner was walking down the hall. They followed the man back out into the computer room as he told them the building was shutting itself down. He explained to the group that the French had been the ones to hold out until the end, and shortly after, an alarm rang out. Vi stated loudly that they had thirty minutes until decontamination, and Lou looked up in horror as the doctor punched in a code that caused the door to slide shut. She knew what this meant. 

"He just locked us in!" Glenn cried.

Daryl caught the look of fear on Lou's face, pushing the bottle of wine into her hands, "go get our stuff."

Lou normally wouldn't take orders, but the look on Daryl's face convinced her, and she broke into a sprint down the hall, but she glanced back just long enough to catch sight of Daryl charging at Jenner, shouting at him in anger. 

She returned to the large room to find Daryl swinging at the door with an axe, and the group all having individual meltdowns. She came just in time to hear Vi defining the faculty-wide decontamination. The entire building would implode, and the group was currently stuck inside. 

Lou slid to the floor, watching the clock counting down humbly. She could faintly hear the sounds of people arguing, and could see sparks coming from her peripheral vision where Daryl and Shane were slamming the door with the axes. Her entire vision blurred momentarily as she dissociated. Then, she was being pulled up and a hand wrapped around hers, tugging her along. 

Daryl leads her through the now-open doorway, and they rushed up the stairs with the rest of the group. When they got to the entrance, they were met with bulletproof glass. Someone tried to shoot it, stupidly, and another threw a chair at it, which bounced off. Carol stepped forward and pulled a grenade from her bag, handing it to Rick. 

Lou heard the pin being pulled and dropped down to the floor, feeling an arm pulling her into Daryl's body beside her. There was a ringing in her ears as they got up and jumped through the now shattered window. 

She made the mad dash to Daryl's truck, not noticing her father wasn't behind her. She jumped into the cab of the old truck, catching sight of her father and Andrea running towards the vehicles before Daryl jumped in behind her, covering her body with his. She cried out, praying her father would make it. There was an excruciating heat she felt pass over the vehicle, then she and Daryl sat up to see the remains of the building. She could see Andrea and her dad get into the RV, and sighed, running a hand through her blonde hair. 

Tears trailed down her face as Daryl started the truck and pulled onto the road.


End file.
